New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-04
Mr. EvARTS SPEAKS FOR HIS PROFESSION.
TILE DE snNs FoR HIS OPPOSITION TO MP. BECKS

THE REASONS FOR HIS oPfOSllioN ~ DfSh
RAILROAD ATTORNEY BILL
WASHINGTON Feb 3.-The Senate to-day proceeded to
the consideration Of the bill to prohibit members Of Con
gress from acting attorneys employees for subsidized
railroad companies.
Mr. Evarts addressed the Senate IN opposition to the
bill H. said tho Senator he could satisfy the Senate
that Il was bill which made that crime which In its
quality had no touch Of turptude and no quality Of in
Jury to the public service, he should have gone good
way he thought In satisfying the honest Judgment of
the Senate and the honest judgment of the country that
such should not be passed and that there was no
Justification for such special legislation He thought,
however that an amendment proposed to be offered as
substitute to the bill by the Senator from Delaware Mr.
Salisbury extremely wel-drawn bill That sub
stitute made unlawful for any member Of Congress to
accept employment general counsel attorney, or to
receive payment for services such counsel attorney
from subsidized railroad companies, with proviso
that shall not be construed to prevent members OF Con-
gress appearing such counsel in State Federal
courts suits to which the United States is not party
He argued that the proposed legislation entirely
called for Every gentleman who had defended or es-
poused had discarded at any imputation that
there existed In either house of Congress any practice or
any relation that needed to be guarded against IL was
S1 a nv b cHy n@ hrksnsas Mr.
Berry, that there was in the public mind In regard 10
No law had ever vet been based any such ground.
There must substantial dissatisfaction sincere
called for and entirely unprecedented the bill was en-
trely missionary No sensible man. In or out or Con
gress feared that tendency TO corruption In
the relations attorney and client between mem-
bers OF Congress and these railroad CORPORATIONS
Those lawyers in the Senate, continued MT Evarts'
who would for this bill would make the inputaton
against their profession that lawyers were class to be
taken from the rest of the community, separated
from other members and precluded from honorable and
innocent conduct for fear that they might he drawn over
the line of their duty The right OF citizens was not To
be invaded because honest employment might lead To
criminay Should the apothecars shop be suppressed
because poison dealt out from 1t No. The posoner
punished but the drug shop was not suppressed
ha1h aan gta1f MT hpin maid
should be satisfied This bill only applied TO employment
by railroad companies but did railroad retaners, he
asked draw Senators from the Chamber any more
than other retaners In order 10 be consistent they
should pass n law forbdding members OF Congress from
taking any fee. But nobody had thought OF proposing
anything of that kind and this bill was not OF that
nature As 10 the talk about serving two masters ho
asked whether Senators doing that when, as aw-
yers they served the dignity and advantage Of the law
and the protection OF the community and when as sena-
tors they did their duty under their obligations
Mr. Evarts concluded his speech AT El5 and then, on
motion of Mr. Hoar the Senate went into secret session.